1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to golf clubs and, particularly, to golf grips for use in conjunction with golf clubs.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a normal, healthy hand, each of the finger joints of the hand are capable of flexing approximately 90 degrees relative to one another to allow the hand and the corresponding fingers to wrap around an object. Additionally, this allows for the hand to exert substantial compressive forces against the object to grasp and move the same. As a result, a person having normal, healthy hands is capable of efficiently grasping standard diameter golf club grips in order to swing a golf club.
However, when a person develops osteoarthritis in the hands and/or fingers, osteoarthritic changes of the finger joints may occur and inflammation and pain in the finger joints may result. This may lead to swelling and the formation of heterotopic bone within the finger joints, which may result in the joints of the fingers having a reduced range of motion. For example, in some people, the reduction in range of motion may be ten to fifty percent of the range of motion of a normal, healthy hand. This reduces the ability of the individual to wrap their hand around an object having a small diameter, such as a golf club grip, and to exert a substantial compressive force on the same. Moreover, due to the inflammation and pain in the joint caused by the osteoarthritis, the individual may opt to utilize their hands to grasp objects less frequently, causing atrophy of the muscles that further reduces the grasping strength of the individual.
While golf club grips having slightly larger diameters than a standard grip have been introduced for arthritic golfers, the increased diameter of these grips results in the golfer using a grip that has a diameter that is larger than the ideal golf club grip diameter for the individual. As a result, the individual is hampered in his or her ability to achieve the desired combination of maximum club head impact speed and optimal club head rotation rate through the hitting area. Specifically, arthritic golf club grips are made of substantially softer materials than are utilized in standard grips to allow the arthritic grip to more effectively absorb shock and vibration generated during ball striking and, correspondingly, reduce the pain and/or discomfort that a golfer may experience when hitting a golf ball. However, the use of softer materials in the construction of an arthritic golf club grip results in the grip experiencing greater torsion, i.e., being less resistant to rotational forces, during a golf swing. This results in the arthritic golf club grip experiencing excessive twisting between the golfer's hands and shaft of the golf club during a golf swing, which may cause a loss of directional control during the golf shot.
In addition to the problems identified above, arthritic golf club grips are also intended to be used in conjunction with traditional methods of swinging and gripping a golf club, such as the Vardon gripping method. Utilizing the Vardon gripping method, as shown generally in FIGS. 1-3, upper hand 10 is wrapped around grip 12 of golf shaft 14 with thumb 16 of upper hand 10 placed so as to rest on top portion 18 of grip 12. As shown in FIG. 2, lower hand 20 is then wrapped around grip 12 in a manner in which it encompasses thumb 16 of upper hand 10, as well as grip 12. Currently, there are three traditionally accepted gripping methods and all three gripping methods require thumb 16 of upper hand 10 to be positioned on top portion 18 of grip 12 with lower hand 20 encompassing both thumb 16 and grip 12. Specifically, the Vardon over-lapping technique, shown in FIGS. 1-4, requires pinky finger 22 (FIG. 4) of lower hand 20 to rest on top of index finger 24 (FIG. 4) of upper hand 10. The Interlocking technique, shown in FIG. 5, requires that pinky finger 22 of lower hand 20 is positioned between index finger 24 and pointer finger 26 of upper hand 10. The Ten-Finger technique, shown in FIG. 6, requires pinky finger 22 of lower hand 20 to wrap directly onto grip 12 so that the lateral aspect of pinky finger 22 of lower hand 20 rests against the medial aspect of pointer finger 26 of upper hand 10.
Currently, these three gripping methods are the industry standard for hand placement on a golf club. In fact, the use of standard size golf club grips in conjunction with the use of these three methods for gripping the golf grip has performed extremely well for professional and low handicapped golfers. However, for the remaining majority of golfers, including arthritic golfers, this combination of grip size and gripping technique has performed poorly and has led to a great deal of frustration.